“Gospel Music’s Biggest Night” came home to Nashville last night — and clearly not a moment too soon.

After two years in Atlanta, the 44th annual Gospel Music Association Dove Awards took place Tuesday night at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena, and Nashville’s Christian music stars dominated the stage and drove home Music City’s status as a major hub for faith-based music.

In terms of sheer numbers, the night belonged to an artist who didn’t claim Nashville, Atlanta or any other U.S. city as home: British songsmith and worship leader Matt Redman, whose six wins included songwriter and song of the year for his “10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord).” But one of the night’s top honors — artist of the year — went to Christian pop mainstay and Middle Tennessee resident TobyMac, and local names were called throughout the evening, from Hendersonville singer Jason Crabb (southern gospel performance of the year) and Nashville duo for King & Country (new artist of the year).

TobyMac also opened Tuesday night’s show, kicking off a night of performances that saw rock giving way to rap, traditional gospel and electronic dance music.

“I love setting the pace for the rest of the night,” TobyMac said before the show. “Showing (the audience) that gospel music, the Dove Awards isn’t all about hymns and church music. It’s about God’s word going out in all forms of music.”

After spending the last two years in Atlanta — marking the first time it had been held outside of Nashville — the 44th annual Gospel Music Association Dove Awards returns to Music City at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena.

Gospel Music Association Executive Director Jackie Patillo said she couldn’t comment on the decision to move to Atlanta, but told The Tennessean, “It’s appropriate for us to bring it back home.”

“Nashville is quite a hotbed for Christian and gospel artists, as well as our industry, so everybody’s excited about it coming back to Nashville.”

After two years in Atlanta, the Gospel Music Association Dove Awards show returns home to Nashville on Oct. 15 — and the Christian music event has named two genre stars as this year’s hosts.

Middle Tennessee’s own Amy Grant and Texas-based gospel mainstay Kirk Franklin will share hosting duties at the show, taking place at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena. Tickets are on sale now at www.doveawards.com.

When demonstrators from the Westboro Baptist Church showed up outside his concert in Kansas City, Missouri on Sunday, Vince Gill decided to give the picketers a piece of his mind.

A video posted Sunday (by a YouTube user that claims to be against the WBC) shows Gill speaking to Westboro demonstrators near the Kauffman Center’s Muriel Kauffman Theatre. Asked by an offscreen voice what he was doing outside, Gill says, “I just came to see what hate looked like.”

“Don’t you know that (you) are lucky that you don’t have the sign that says something about my wife?” Gill replies.

Gill tells the demonstrators that Jesus spoke "about forgiveness, about grace. You guys don’t have any of that,” and calmly uses a bit of unprintable language towards one member before turning back to the camera.

“Are any of you guys Phelpses?" he asks, referring to Westboro pastor Fred Phelps and the numerous family members involved with the church. "Or are you guys like, The C-Team?”

Based in Topeka, Kansas, The Westboro Baptist Church proclaims to "adhere to the teachings of the Bible, preach against all form of sin (e.g., fornication, adultery [including divorce and remarriage], sodomy), and insist that the sovereignty of God and the doctrines of grace be taught and expounded publicly to all men," according to its official website.

The church is known for its "God Hates..." signs and slogans against homosexuals, military personnel and other groups, and for demonstrating at funerals, concerts, sporting events and other gatherings.

Gill is scheduled to take the stage tonight in Nashville as a member of Grammy-nominated western swing group The Time Jumpers.

“Smitty” — as friends and industry colleagues call him — has added book author to his list of accomplishments in the entertainment field in the past 15 years or so. His latest is a collaboration with writer Tom Williams, “The Power of an Ordinary Prayer” (Worthy Publishing, $14.99), which focuses on blessings.

How did you get into writing outside of music?

Well, I woke up one day and realized I had something to say. I always felt I wasn’t very good at it from stage. I guess I was always intimidated by Amy. That’s not the right word. But I spent all this time with Amy (Grant) and she was just so natural on stage. Gosh, I wish I could do that.

So maybe I learned some of that from her. After that I started thinking, maybe I could author a book, because I’ve got all this stuff inside of me. So I started jotting things down, and all of a sudden, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I think I can do this.’

I’ve had a lot of help, a lot of people just picking my brain for hours, hours and hours. And we’d dig through it. So it’s been a challenge, and it’s been great to be able to write down some things I want to talk about.

That’s an interesting process, having someone mine your mind.

Yeah, and it’s exhausting. (Laughs.) I mean, it’s good. You sort of get in a flow, but you finish three or four hours of that and you feel like you’ve been run over by a train. You’re saying things that really make you tick and things that are important.

It seems like it’s really important to do that kind of thinking and reflection.

Yeah, I probably need to do that whether I’m writing a book or not. I’ve not been very good at journaling. Maybe that’s one regret that I have. I think maybe, maybe one day, people ask, “When are you going to write a memoir?”

'The Power of an Ordinary Prayer.' (Photo: Submitted)

It’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, what a chore that’s going to be.’ Because I haven’t journaled everything. If it does happen, I’ll figure it out. I’ve got enough people that have probably been journaling for me and writing down stories — things that happen not only in the White House but in orphanages in Africa or being in an AIDS clinic in Capetown. The list goes on of things I’d love to be able to share one day.

You said the process is exhausting, but I assume you’re getting something out of it because you keep writing.

Let’s talk about “The Power of an Ordinary Prayer.” I want to start out with the dedication, when you write about your wife’s late grandmother, “Kate Dear” or “Nanny.”

Or the “Queen Mom” is what I called her. She was a queen mom, I’m tellin’ ya. I called her “Kate Dear” all the time.

She never came off with authority, but here she is, like a matriarch. Here comes the “Queen Mom.” Everybody loved her. She had this reputation. This lady was unbelievable and sharp as a tack right up until the day she went to go be with the Lord. She was incredible.

Tell me how you came up with a book of blessings.

It might’ve been the first cruise I did. I’ve met some extraordinary people who’ve loved me well and faithfully (on those cruises).

One night, on a concert on the ship, I just had this thing inside of me. I felt like there were a lot of people in the audience who had been fatherless. I had a gut feeling that there was somebody out there who had never had a blessing ever spoken over them.

I told them, “I want to do something I’ve never done before. I want to pronounce a blessing over you guys. I just want to bless you.”

So I just started saying this blessing. It was probably about a minute, a minute 15 seconds, whatever.

The people were plastered back in their seats. People started crying. It was wild. It was just crazy. And then you started hearing the stories — you started hearing about abuse from tragic childhoods that people still were trying to dig out from under that, and the list goes on.

So then, when I came off the cruise ship, I was like, OK, I just encountered about 200 people on that ship that have never had a blessing spoken over them, tragic childhoods, whatever. Man, how many Smitty fans and how many people all over the world are experiencing the same thing?

So I think I’m supposed to write a book about the power of a prayer, the power of a blessing.

Do you remember the first time a blessing was spoken over you?

Yeah, my mom and dad. I don’t remember anything negative coming from my mom and dad. I can remember them being upset — “You broke the rules, you threw a rock and you broke a window, you’re going to get punished” — and I deserved it.

But everything was just so edifying in my life.

The blessing is a two-way street.

When you bless people, they’ve got to receive it. You just can’t sit there and look at me. You’ve got to receive it.

And when they receive it, it does something to them, especially those who’ve had a hard time because of some negative things that’ve been spoken over them their whole lives.

Watch them receive a blessing, and you watch these people come to life, man. It’s a game changer. It is a game changer. You start to feel good about yourself. “Golly, this is for me.”

This undated publicity photo provided by Capitol Christian Music Group shows singer Amy Grant. The Grammy-winning Christian recording artist's “How Mercy Looks From Here” will be available May 14. (AP Photo/Capitol Christian Music Group, Jim Wright)

Fans have waited 10 years for an all-new, original album from Amy Grant, and that wait finally ends Tuesday with the release of “How Mercy Looks From Here.” They might be surprised to learn that the basic tracking for Grant’s first full-length since 2003 took roughly one week — but the album truly was a decade in the making.

“It’s all of the work that happens before you walk into the studio that takes so much time,” she tells The Tennessean.

Grant has been performing some of the album’s songs in concert for years, but approached them all with “a critical ear” in the studio, making for a thoroughly modern collection that should sound fresh to longtime fans.

The album is dedicated to Grant’s mother, who told her to “sing something that matters” shortly before she passed away in 2011. Grant took that to heart during the making of “Mercy,” and called on a cast of famous friends to lend a hand in that mission. James Taylor, Carole King and Sheryl Crow are among the stars singing along on various tracks, in addition to hit songsmiths Eric Paslay, Will Hoge and Grant’s husband, Vince Gill.

Grant says she already gets a kick out of sharing other artist’s songs with friends, and doing the same with her own music was even better.

“It’s been ten years since I’ve done a record of all-new songs,” she says. “Part of me was thinking, ‘Well, what if it’s ten more years?’ People have asked in the past, ‘Who would you sing with if you could?’ And I’ve always said, ‘Well, I don’t know, just whatever happens.’ But I felt very intentional inviting these guests. Mostly because I love their work, but also because I felt like what they brought to the table creatively was exactly what that song needed. The familiarity of James’ voice singing, ‘You’re lovely even with your scars.’ I mean, I’ve heard his voice for 45 years, you know? I trust him.”

“How Mercy Looks From Here” hits stores on Tuesday. At a recent album release event in Nashville, Grant was looking forward to sharing new music with the world.

“I feel like I’ve cooked a big meal with all of my best recipes, and said, ‘Come eat.’”

click to see a slide show of The Nashville Symphony.The Nashville Symphony's 2013-2014 season includes Ben Folds, Chicago, and Amy Grant and Vince Gill.

By Jessica Bliss

The Tennessean

With the announcement of its 2013-2014 season, the Nashville Symphony again showcases its desire to combine classic compositions with contemporary concertos and make the most of its creative surroundings.

But more than that, the upcoming season’s lineup, which includes Ben Folds, Amy Grant and Vince Gill, is one carefully culled with the specific goal of buoying the symphony’s financial viability.

The symphony has enough cash for operations for the “foreseeable future,” Nashville Symphony President and CEO Alan Valentine said, and it will continue to perform with the goal of presenting an appealing season aimed at increasing ticket sales and revenue.